


Romance, Rebellion, and Rifles

by rowanthefierce



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alien Technology, Alternate Universe - Space, F/F, Female-Centric, Femslash, Major Character Injury, Mercenaries, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-04-27 01:17:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5028079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowanthefierce/pseuds/rowanthefierce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jasper shows up bleeding on Peridot's doorstep one night, and after that the two of them are never quite the same. They can't get each other out of their minds, but it takes a lot for either of them to admit affections.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stranger at the Door

The buzzing at the door was obnoxiously insistent, Peridot found, as she lay in her bed and tried to ignore it. The method worked for about two minutes. The noise stopped, and she thought whomever it was had gone away. She blinked at the clock. It was 2:36 in the morning, GST [Galactic Standard Time]. The buzzing began again, interspersed with knocking.

She slid out of her bed, shrugged on a jacket to appear at least somewhat nicer, and answered the door. It was a woman on her doorstep, dressed in dark clothing with at least one layer of body armor on. There was also blood on the carpet. Peridot’s first thought was, _I bet I have to pay for that_ , and then, _What the hell happened?_

“I know it’s 2 in the morning,” said the woman in a low voice, “but I need a place to either rest for a bit or get patched up.”

“I have no idea who you are,” Peridot answered in a flat voice, “and I do not take strangers into my apartment on a whim.”

“Do you want ID? I got ID.” The woman used her free hand—the other was pressed tightly against her side—to procure a thin slip of plastic. Peridot took it from her and read it over.

JASPER, it said. There was more below it, but what followed ‘Jasper’ caught Peridot’s attention. “You’re a bounty hunter?”

“ _Mercenary,_ ” Jasper snapped, and suddenly she sagged against the doorframe, wheezing slightly. “Dammit…hey, look, I work for the people who make sure nothing goes wrong this side of the Altraxia nebula. I do what they want me to. And sometimes I get hurt. Like now.”

“How bad is it?” Peridot asking, hoping it was something minor she could dismiss with bandages and disinfectant. Judging by the blood, however, it was most likely _not_ that.

“Some punk insurgent got their hands on an energy phaser and took out a chunk of my left side.” Jasper lifted her hand to show Peridot.

_Nasty,_ Peridot thought, curling her lip. There was a rip in both the armor and the clothing, and a deep gouge in the flesh below that. Blood was trickling out of it, not in any particular hurry, but fast enough to kill by bleeding out in less than a few hours. It was also slightly burnt. Jasper covered the wound up again, using her hand for pressure.

“Come in,” Peridot said, opening the door wider. “I have to send you on your way, though, once you are bandaged. The owner of this complex does not like tenants having unregistered guests.”

Jasper entered the small apartment, and Peridot noticed how the injured mercenary’s eyes automatically flickered over the walls, floors, entryways to the kitchen and bathroom, and everything in between. It was making even her nervous.

“Sit here,” she said, gesturing to the chair by the table. “I will go get supplies for that wound.”

“Thanks,” said Jasper.

“I suppose I have an obligation for someone who helps keep this place safe…” Peridot muttered as she rummaged through her medicinal supplies in the bathroom cabinet. She pulled the whole kit out and lugged it back to the table, setting it down with a thump. It was then she realized that Jasper would have to remove the upper half of her clothing to properly treat the wound. Her cheeks grew hot and she tried to busy herself pulling out the required supplies.

“What’s the matter?” Jasper asked. “You turned red.”

“You need to take off your—armor and clothes,” Peridot said, not looking up from the kit.

“Sure,” said Jasper, without blinking. She removed the armor first, setting it on the table. Blood dripped off it, and Peridot had the afterthought of fetching towels.

She left the table and went back to the bathroom, grabbing several of the older towels buried in the back. From the main chamber she head Jasper exhale sharply.

“This hurts like hell,” the mercenary growled.

“Why didn’t you go to a proper hospital?” Peridot asked, reentering the room.

“If I was allowed to go to a hospital,” Jasper said, “we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Peridot set the towels down and finally turned her eyes onto Jasper. The wound was even uglier without the armor and clothing disguising it. She offered a towel, which Jasper draped over her leg and part of the chair. There was already blood on both, but it reassured Peridot some. She pulled on gloves, just to be safe, and turned to Jasper.

“This might hurt,” she said, taking the disinfectant in hand. Her face was still hot, she found, but she managed to keep her eyes only on the injury, however nauseating it was.

Jasper was unnervingly silent during the process. Peridot glanced up once, and saw that the mercenary was staring at the ceiling, her teeth clamped down on her lower lip. There was a fine line of blood running out of the corner of her mouth.

When the wound was cleansed Peridot took the bandages and had Jasper sit forward, so that she could properly wrap them around. Just enough pressure to keep the blood from pouring out, but not too tight so as to constrict bleeding.

“Y’know,” Jasper said suddenly, as Peridot finished wrapping the bandage, “I never got your name.”

“Peridot,” said Peridot.

“You’re almost as skilled as a professional doctor,” Jasper said.

“I just know how to use disinfectant and bandages,” Peridot said mildly. “If you had come to my door with something stuck in your chest—” She paused, the mental image gluing itself in her mind. She tried to push it aside. “—well…I do not think I could help you then.”

“No big deal that I got a chunk of my side blown off?”

“Not in the grand scheme of things.” Peridot turned away and mopped up the blood congealing on the table, then set them under the dirtied armor and top. “Why are you not allowed to go to a hospital?”

“A lot of people would recognize me there. A lot of people I don’t _need_ recognizing me. If word gets around that security’s top hired gunman is out of the game, people get cocky. When people get cocky, shit goes to hell for my superiors.”

“So you came to my doorstep,” said Peridot.

“The guy in the lobby said you had some medical qualifications.”  
“’Some’ is right.” Peridot pulled off her blood-soaked gloves and set them on the spare towel. She used a wipe to clean her hands, and then offered them to Jasper. “For your hand there.”

Jasper wiped the hand she had been using to cover the wound clean. “Thanks.”

“Yes,” said Peridot. “You are welcome.”

She threw away the dirtied supplies, packed up the kit, put away the kit, and returned to the table. “You are lucky it was just a superficial wound. If that had damaged any of your internal organs—”

“I would be screwed,” cut in Jasper. “Yeah. I know. I’ve seen it happen.”

Peridot blinked. “Was it scary?”

“It made me realize none of us are bulletproof.” Jasper attempted to stretch, and winced, patting her side. Peridot’s eye rested for a second on her stomach, where a considerable set of muscles were on display.

_Dammit_ , she thought, and sighed. _I will probably not see her again. I cannot be developing fanciful attractions._

Jasper reached for her clothes and started to put them on. “I—oughta—get—going,” she said. “I’m supposed to rendezvous with the rest of my team in eight hours and that’s in the next solar system over.”

“All right,” said Peridot. “You have fun with that.”  
“We’ve got to go back and try again. The guy we’re after is holed away in that slum of a city. Damn insurgents giving us trouble.”

“Was anyone else hurt?”

“No clue.” Jasper tugged on her armor. “Once I was hit, I made for my ship and got out of there. There’s no real family in this business. You work together, but you also work for yourself.” She stood up, towering over Peridot again. “Well, thanks again.”

“You are welcome,” said Peridot. “I would suggest resting as much as possible.”

“Like that’ll happen,” Jasper scoffed. “Anyway. Got to go.” She walked stiffly over to the door, opened it, and stepped outside. Her eyes turned back to meet Peridot’s for a second, and then she was gone.

Peridot sighed again and looked at the time. 3:08 GST. She went to the kitchen for cleaning supplies, and started on removing the blood from her furniture and carpet.


	2. Insurgency

Eight months passed, and no one else showed up on Peridot’s doorstep asking for medical help. The event passed into memory.

She was walking along the streets of the market sector on the third world of the solar system. Her apartment was on the sixth, and she had taken one of the passenger ships to arrive at the third. It was a long, boring transit, but she brought her holopad with her to read studies and manuals on the new technological developments blooming in the galaxy. She was considering moving out to one of the more tech-based systems and securing a job there. Living in a cramped apartment and writing articles on the latest security systems was not her idea of a successful career.

It was quite an ordinary day, which was to say it was crowded, hot, and noisy. Peridot put the hood of her dark green cloak up to shade her face from the sun, and also to avoid making eye contact with more people than was necessary. She arrived at the few stalls were she made her usual rounds and picked up supplies for the next three weeks. _Good thing I do not require much_ , she thought as she carried the load back towards the pad for the passenger ship.

Then, suddenly, the hissing, whistling screams of energy rifles filled the air. Peridot threw a hasty glance around and ran, with the rest of the crowd, for shelter.

Voices shouted over the din. Peridot saw the flash of silver and black and recognized one side of the fighters as the security forces. Somewhere in the back of her mind she hoped Jasper would be among them— _wishful thinking_ , she chided herself, ducking into the shadows with several others.

“Put the gun down,” said a voice, calm but firm. “Right where we can see it.”

It was uncomfortably quiet.

There was the click of the rifle and the thrum as a bullet began to pulse with energy.

“ _Put the gun down,_ ” repeated the voice, more insistently.

“No,” said another voice. The thrum grew louder.

_He’s going to let it overcharge,_ Peridot thought, and a chill ran up her spine.

“Get back,” said the same firm voice, but it was quieter, most likely addressed to their team. “Sir, _please_ …we just need you to come with us…”

“I know what you want! Filthy bounty hunters!” screamed the second voice. “You think you can intimidate me?”

“We are here to ensure safety—”

The thrum was like a heartbeat, a collective heartbeat. Out of the corner of her eye, Peridot saw a woman holding a child closer to her. Another chill went up her spine.

“He’s gonna throw it!” someone yelled.

Peridot thought of two headlines for the next day’s system-wide newspaper: **SECURITY ENFORCERS UNABLE TO PREVENT A MARTYR’S SUICIDE** , or **SECURITY ENFORCERS MURDERED BY AN INSURGENT**. Neither of them was appealing.

There was the scuffling of feet and then the crash of something on the ground. A second dripped by like a water drop from a leaf.

There was an explosion. A loud, dirt-and-rock slinging, people flying backwards sort of explosion. Peridot’s ears rang and she flung an arm up as clods of dirt and rock ricocheted across the marketplace. There were cries all around. A stone glanced across her cheek, abrading the skin. She winced.

“Damn insurgent!” snarled a voice. One of the security team members was lying flat on their face. They picked themselves up. “Can’t settle a damn thing peacefully. All they want is anarchy—”

Peridot knew the voice.

“Blew himself up,” someone said from behind one of the market stalls. Produce and goods were strewn everywhere. An overcharged energy rifle was a powerful explosive.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” said the firm voice. A black-clad enforcer was addressing the people who were beginning to gather back in the market. “The threat is gone. We sincerely apologize for this incident having threatened your wellbeing. Insurgents are becoming more common, and we hope to provide the best protection we can.”

_Is that an empty promise?_ Peridot thought, rising and clutching the bag with her supplies to her chest. _You cannot protect everyone._

She saw the security enforcer who had been lying on the ground a few hundred feet away, keeping an eye on things. The market was already back in full swing. Everyone may have been frightened for those few tense minutes, but there was nothing left of their threat but a small dent in the ground.

_I would hate to be remembered as a dent in the ground,_ Peridot thought. She almost felt sorry for the insurgent. _They do want to abolish the law, though. I am not sure what to make of this long-winded conflict._

The war on the rebellion had been going on for three years. At first it had been stressful, a constant wariness that infiltrated people’s lives. But now it was a weariness of the same scenarios over and over again.

“Hey,” said a voice and Peridot turned around.

_Jasper,_ she thought. Aloud, she said: “Oh. Hello.”

“You all right?”

“I am fine. It is not the first time this market has been threatened.”

“Yeah, but—” Jasper stopped. “Good to see you again.”

“You too.”

“My side’s doing a lot better. I have a scar, but it’s only just a bit sore.”

Peridot thought of the scar, and then pushed _that_ mental image away. “It is good to hear that.”

“You headed back home?”

“Yes.”

Jasper hesitated, and then said: “If you’d like, I can give you a lift. The passenger ship left during the confrontation, and probably won’t be back for a while.”

“I am not sure what to think of that.”

“It’s the least I could do for you, I mean, after you stopped me from bleeding out and all.”

“I will wait for the passenger ship,” said Peridot. She turned away from Jasper and then back in one jerky movement. “Thank you, anyway.”

“Yeah…no problem.” Jasper nodded. “Stay safe.”

“You need that advice more than me,” said Peridot, and she walked towards the pad. When she had blended into the crowd, she looked back. Jasper was already gone.


	3. Courage

Two months later and Peridot had moved three solar systems over and landed a steady job at a tech-plant for building and repairing the newest in robotic developments: small, circular ones that repaired things themselves. The CEO of the plant wanted to call them ‘robonoids.’ Peridot enjoyed her job. _Better than writing articles,_ she thought, _and better paying, too._

At least the apartment she lived in was bigger, too, and there was an actual bedroom instead of a bed shoved in the corner. The kitchen and dining room were one and the same, but spacious. The living room had a shelf for trinkets or books, a couch, and a hologram projector for watching broadcasts or movies. It was nice.

It was also out of the way of the rebellion. One couldn’t make a big show by threatening a tech-plant. Even insurgents needed the products of technology. Peridot preferred to think her company’s projects were going to the security team, not to the rebellion. It helped her focus.

She was resting one evening on the couch, reading one of her favorite studies on how robots helped with food production, and there came a buzzing at the door. This buzzer was much less tinny, which was a relief. The one at her old place had been driving Peridot mad.

The clock said 6:54 GST. Peridot exhaled, shut off her holopad, and went to answer the door.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Hey,” replied Jasper. She was dressed in something other than her mercenary outfit. It was still militant in style, but Peridot couldn’t imagine Jasper in either casual or fancy attire.

“Last time you were at my doorstep,” Peridot said, “you were bleeding.”

“No blood,” said Jasper, and she held up her hands, grinning crookedly.

“Would you like to come in?” Peridot asked.

“Sure, if you’re not busy.”

“I am not busy.”

Jasper stepped in and looked around with the same darting glances of her eyes. Peridot felt the same uneasiness, but knew it now as a force of habit and made herself relax.

“You upgraded,” said the mercenary. “It’s much nicer.”

“I like to think so, too.” Peridot put her hands in the pockets of her thin grey jacket. “How did you find me?”

“I was in the system where your old place was a few weeks ago. Guy at the front said you weren’t there, so I gave it up. Yesterday my team decided to patrol through here just for safekeeping measures and I happened to see you taking the passenger ship back to this planet.” Jasper paused. “I hope you don’t find this creepy, because I just wanted to say hello, and all.”

“It is unusual,” said Peridot, “for one to be so persistent in finding another, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

The grin reappeared. “Well, then, hello and all. How are you?”

“Busy,” said Peridot. “I have many projects.”

“Building robots?”

“Yes.” Peridot sat next to Jasper on the couch. “How are you?”

“Surprisingly…not very busy.” Jasper rubbed her chin. “The rebellion’s cooling off. There was a big incident near Altraxia, and people have decided to maybe shelve their ideas of anarchy. Good for us, I say.”

“It is good for everyone. No more bother.”

“True.”

There was a lapse of silence.

Finally, Jasper said: “I…er…actually tried to find you for another reason.”

“Oh?” asked Peridot.

“I know it was chance we met,” said Jasper, “and chance we met _twice_ , but I just—I can’t—” She stopped, fumbling with words. “I can’t get you out of my mind. We’re practically strangers but…I sound like an idiot, don’t I?” She rose and stalked a few feet away, rubbing at her forehead. “Dammit.”

Peridot wanted to say, _Well, I cannot get you out of_ my _mind, either._

She didn’t say anything.

Jasper waved a dismissive hand. “You know what? Uh—just forget this happened. Just forget it.” She hesitated. “Sorry to bother you.” She went to the door and left.

The whole incident had taken less than ten minutes. Peridot looked at the clock. 7:01 GST. She was quiet for several minutes longer, feeling hollow inside.

_I should have said something,_ she thought, and then, _Perhaps it is best I did not._

She reached for her holopad, for a distraction, but she didn’t feel like reading. Peridot went to the kitchen, and drank a glass of cold water. It was like ice inside her. She set the glass down and wondered how much courage it took a fighter to open up about their emotions.

_Too much_ , she thought.


	4. The Hospital

Another set of months passed, as they will. Peridot was running on the top tracks of the company, well-liked for her skill and ingenuity. The CEO had accepted her idea for another kind of robonoid: larger ones for transport. It would be difficult to arrange, she had said, but would certainly pay off in the long run. Peridot remembered going home with a bit more of a spring in her step.

The day the first prototype of this new robonoid walked across the floor, carrying the CEO and her assistant on its back, was the day Peridot decided to contact Jasper. She had no idea _how_ , but she was going to say something.

_Do you remember that day when you came into my apartment and said you could not get me off your mind? I feel the same way_ , she thought, mentally rehearsing what she was going to say.

The people who ran the security enforcer/mercenary agency were helpful only in providing a new number to call to contact the head of hiring. She said that Jasper was under the command of Agate, and here was Agate’s number.

There was a long static noise before someone picked up when Peridot contacted the number for Agate.

“Hello?” asked a tired voice.

“Is this Agate?” asked Peridot.

“Yes.”

“I am looking for Jasper.”

There was a pause.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?”

“Peridot. I am…a friend of Jasper’s.”

“Oh.” Agate repeated the word, dragging it out with a sort of sigh. “Ohhhh.”

“Is there trouble?”

“I’m afraid that you may not be able to reach Jasper right now. There was a major fight on Chawe, and most of my team’s been hospitalized. In fact, I’m speaking you to from my bed. I’ve broken three ribs and my left leg.” Agate stopped. “That was unnecessary, I apologize. I’m quite tired, you see.”

Peridot struggled to form the next sentence. “Which…hospital are you…at?”

“The one on Chawe itself. Small place, but not hard to miss. You probably don’t want to come. They get war injuries. Nasty stuff.”

“I have seen war injuries,” said Peridot coldly. “I am coming.”

“To see Jasper?” Agate made a scoffing noise. “One helluva friend you are. Rare sight with our type.”

“I send my best wishes for your health,” said Peridot, and she hung up.

_What if she’s dead?_ she thought. _What if Agate was trying to let me down gently?_ She stopped herself. _No. Jasper is alive. She is tough._

Chawe was four solar systems away, but the transportation in the system she was currently in was phenomenal. She arranged for passage on one of the fast ships, which cost extra, but it was worth it in her opinion.

The ride was long even then. Peridot tried to read on her holopad but the words blurred together and nothing made sense. She turned the pad off with a click and tried to rest. By the time her eyes were vaguely preparing to close, the announcer said they were at Chawe. Peridot was the only one who disembarked.

There were signs to the hospital, the paint still damp on them. Security enforcers littered the place. A chill shuddered its way up Peridot’s spine and she hurried on.

At the front of the hospital a guard held out her hand. “What’s your business?”

“I am here to see a friend,” Peridot said.

“I gotta do a weapons check, hope you don’t mind,” said the guard. The process was automated, but Peridot did not like the green light blipping at her on the top of the scanner. “You’re clear,” said the guard. “Best health to your friend.”

The atmosphere of the hospital was gloomy. Everyone was tired-looking, their clothes stained with blood, some fresher than others. The murmurs were soft and weary. Peridot asked for Jasper’s room and was directed to the second floor.

“In here,” said the nurse quietly. “You got five minutes.”

Peridot sat next to the bed, hands clasped together in her lap. There was both a blood bag and an I.V. bag hanging over the bed like vultures. _This place is unsettling_ , she thought. Jasper stirred slightly, her face screwing up like she was in pain. It made sense, considering the number of bandages she had. Some were turning faint pink.

“I am uncertain if you can hear me or not,” Peridot said, “but I want you to know that the day you came into my apartment…the day you said you could not get me off your mind…I want you to know that I…erm…felt the same way. It has been bothering me for the past several months and today I was going to try to contact you but they said you were in the hospital and I was beginning to fear the worst and I do not know if this _is_ the worst…I think I have feelings for you, Jasper.”

_What a silly way to phrase it,_ Peridot thought angrily, but it was out there. No taking it back.

There was silence. Peridot put one of her hands on the bed, gently, and felt Jasper’s hand. Still warm. Still Jasper’s.

Then suddenly Jasper moved her hand to cover Peridot’s, gently.

“Hey,” said the mercenary in a weak but determined voice, “I...uh…have feelings for you too. And it’s not the anesthetic talking…it’s me…honest.”

“Please tell me you are not going back into being a mercenary,” Peridot said. “I have seen you bleeding and bandaged twice now. Three times would be too many.”

“I can’t,” said Jasper. “They kicked the entire team. We weren’t…good enough for them.”

“You are good enough for me,” said Peridot, and then winced at the cheesiness of the remark.

But Jasper grinned. “Yeah? That’s good.”

There was a knock at the door and the nurse came in. “Five minutes are up.”

“When I get out of here,” Jasper said, “can I come stay with you in your apartment? I’ve been living in a ship for the past three years.”

“Certainly,” said Peridot.

Jasper squeezed Peridot’s hand with surprising firmness, and then the latter rose and exited. She turned back for a second in the doorway, and met Jasper’s eyes, still shining fiercely.

_I will see you again,_ Peridot thought. _That is not an empty promise._

From the bed, Jasper grinned crookedly, as if picking up on Peridot’s thoughts.


End file.
